Acetylene-distribution safety apparatus



June 19. 1928. 1,674,172

- W. GOERG AcETYLENE DISTRIBUTION. SAFET! APPARATUS Filed se i. 26, 1924H 29- INVENTOR Patented June 19, 1928.

UNITED STATES WALTER GOEBG, or wEs'r HOIBOKEN, NEw JERSEY, coMrANY,INCORPORATED, on NEW YORK, N. Y., A

ASSIGNOR TO AIR REDUCTION CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ACETYLENE-DISTRIBUTION SAFETY APPARATUS.

Application filed Sept'ember26, 1924. Serial N'0. 740,136.

' In acetylene gas lines such as those which conduct acetylene fromgenerators to points of consumption by welding and cutting apparatus inshops and factories, it is customary to provide a water-seal at anappropriate point to extinguish the flame of any backfire or flash-backthat may be propagated rearward through theline, to keep it fromreaching the generator or source. When the valve at the inlet or sourceside of the seal is opened, the initial impact of the gas is apt toproduce'a powerful hydraulic hammer effeet, which may partly or evenentirely discharge the water from the seal into the outlet orconsumption side of the line. Bathe plates and other devices have beentried to break up the gas chamber in the seal, but without satisfactoryeffect.

The subject of the invention is an automatic device at the inlet side ofthe waterseal, which closes at a pressure differential between the inletand outlet pressures sufliciently low to guard against purging yetsufficiently high not to close under normal flow at normaldifferentials, there being means for building up the pressure, that isto say the pressure beyond the closure, gradually to a point which willrelease the closure and permit normal flow through the main port to thewater-seal. The simple and efi'ective form of the closure particularlyclaimed is one in the nature of a dead rubber ball,

' which is driven up an incline to-a seat encircling the main port by apressure differential acting in the direction of normal flow butinexcess of normal differential, the wall adjacent the seat having oneor more by-pass ports leading from the ball chamber to the outlet sideof the seat so calculated that the outlet pressure through theseal totheconsumption part of the line will build up until the ball drops away.

In the accompanying drawings illustratthe invention:

ig. 1 is a vertical section through the water seal, with inlet andoutlet portions of the gas line in elevation, and the device in theinlet part of the line also in elevation;

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through the device, theclosure being shown down away from the seat in full lines, and againstthe seat in broken lines; and

Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

The water seal illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises an upright water tank2.having a bolted cover 3. Secured in openings in this cover are gasinlet and outlet conduits 4, 5, of the line. l/Vhile the application ofthe invention is not necessarily limited, the principle involved may beunderstood by considering the conduit sect-ion 4 to lead from anacetylene generator and the section 5 to to lead to one or more torchstations. The inlet section 4 of the line passes through the coverdownward within the tank, plunging far below the surface of the waterbody a and terminating in an upturned checkvalve exit 6. The outletsection 5 has its inlet at the top of the gas outlet chamber 6constituting the upper part of the tight casing. The .Water-level isdetermined and maintained by an overflow pipe? and a charging pipe 8,the open lower ends of which extend down to near the bottom of'the'tank, so that it may be refilled from time to time without admission ofair. The upper ends of these pipes open through the side of the tank,and are normally closed by suitable plugs, not necessary to illustrate.

The anti-purge device is contained in a casing 9 interposed in the inletpart of the line, between the water-seal and the source; as shown, it isclose to the seal. The chamher is substantially horizontal, or upwardlyinclined, and is advantageously made of two 7 special pipe fittings 10and 11 screwed to gether to form an enlarged ball chamber 12,.

the remote portions of the two parts being screw-threaded at 13 and 14for connection to the adjoining portions of the line. The bore of theoutlet section 11 constitutes a main port for conducting the normal flowof gas to the water-seal, and at the entrance end of this port, inthesaid section, a conical seat 15 is formed, providing an incline up whicha closure 16 must be driven to seat against theseat. The closure ispreferably a dead rubber ball, of-which the rubber is dead rather thanspringy.

Fine or restricted by-pass ports 17, one,

two or more in number depending upon the capacity of the seal, aredrilled diagonally through the wall of the section 11, the inlets of theby-pass ports being outside the ring of actual seating of the ball, andtheir outlets opening into the main port beyond the seat.

When the inlet valve 18 is first opened, the solid rubber ball isimmediately forced up the incline and closes the main port. This savesthe water in the seal from being expelled but would cut ofl the gasentirely from the seal and the outlet part of the line but for the ports17, which are properly calculated, and permit gas to pass gradually andharmlessly into and through the seal and its outlet gas chamber into theoutlet part of the line, until the pressure in this part is built up toa comparatively low difierential, whereupon the ball drops away andstays down throughout normal flow.

The device also has other fuctions and advantages. If for any reason,during opera tion, the rate of flow or the ressure difierential shouldbecome too hig as in case of a break in the outlet part of the line, theclosure will be again seated, cutting 0H all but a slight flow. If itshould occur that initially the torch operators were standing by theirstations with their apparatus valves open, waiting for ressure to buildup in the acetylene mains, tliere would be a constant drain on theoutlet side of the water-seal. Under these conditions, if the drain isnot excessive, the device Will permit free flow, but should the drain beabove a certain rate the differential will be such as to seat the ball,which will then continue to close the main port until the rate of drainis decreased by shutting part or all of the apparatus valves.

What I claim as new is:

An acetylene gas distribution main having in combination, an interposedsafety water seal, a safety gas regulating device, said safety devicehaving a chamber and ball valve, and said chamber having a restrictedgas passage around said ball valve.

WALTER GOERG.

